The Resy Guide to Splurge-Worthy Takeout in Chicago

The steakhouse dinner is the unofficial symbol of Midwestern romance. Swift & Sons pays homage to the classics through a luxe, modern lens. A Swift At Home Dinner package for two includes petite filet ($128.50) or tomahawk ribeye ($186), decadently paired with a wedge salad, brussels sprouts, horseradish creme fraiche and creme brûlée. If you’re really going for it, consider adding an à la carte double-baked potato, oh, and a pound of chilled Alaskan king crab legs with drawn butter to start.

Carryout and delivery are available.

Stephen Gillanders’s inventive eatery ranks near the top of our places-to-splurge list, largely because we always over-order anyway. From staples like supple Maine lobster dumplings with jade butter, and craggy fried chicken with fermented hot sauce, to new already-icons — such as sizzling white shrimp bathed in chile oil, and potato-crusted salmon with manila clams dashi — exceeding the standard meal size is both inevitable and encouraged. Don’t skip dessert, either; you’d hate to miss that brûléed cheesecake with winter citrus.

Carryout and delivery are available.

A special dinner should not only be elegant, but the sort of food you’d rather not re-create at home. Enter Kai Zan, one of Chicago’s finest (and most affordable) omakase sushi spots. A 14-piece nigiri dinner platter for two sets you back $95 and includes such chef-selected delights as tuna-wrapped angry crab and orange rush (citrus-wrapped salmon). Might we politely suggest you start with the dynamite mussels — sake-steamed then topped with masago, spicy mayo, black tobiko & negi-mayo? You’re welcome.

Pickup is available.

Every meal at Virtue feels somehow celebratory. You can, even on a random Wednesday, amass a gorgeous, sustaining Southern feast out of its small and large rations — but please make sure it includes gizzards with gravy, fried green tomatoes with remoulade, and blackened catfish with barbeque carrots. Extra rations never hurt, like sweet cornbread and smoked turkey-laced collards. And you should always toss in one of Becky Pendola’s masterful desserts — like Millie’s Pudding, a lush ode to the humble banana pudding.

Pre-order for pickup.

Back in the before times, this Midwestern pasta restaurant never judged diners for ordering more than one pasta per person (not that we have experience with this or anything). Treat yourself with a beautifully veg-forward carb fest. Ease in via a hyper-seasonal salad like raw squash and pecans dressed in brown butter. Then delight in an assortment of pasta shapes and flavors — like ravioli with roasted grapes and truffle butter, stracci with silky lamb ragu, and tagliatelle with olives and pepitas wrapped in pumpkin bolognese.

Order carryout here.

Consider a Middle Eastern feast for two — meaty or vegetarian — from Galit for a special treat. Whether you’re indulging in Balkan lamb-stuffed cabbage or roasted beets with tahini, you’re always guaranteed a side of four warm pita balloons. Make it extra indulgent with a bottled cocktail for two (the arak-tinged Saz Arak, with date-infused demerara sugar, will warm you through) or bottle of wine (we’re loving the brisk Laberinto sauvignon blanc from Chile’s Rafael Tirado) and, of course, challah bread pudding.

Both pickup and delivery are available.

French food oozes romance — even better when it can transport you to the warm, breezy Mediterranean coast. This charming eatery features family-sized and a la carte versions of its Southern French-inspired menu of grilled steak or salmon with grilled lemon. Start with an order of grilled shrimp with piparra peppers, and end with the indulgent, tahini-laced chocolate torte. Affordable French reds and whites on offer assure you won’t splurge where drinks are concerned.

Order pickup here.

Shake up the typical date night by splurging on a huge spread of American-Chinese nostalgia from this fun-loving spot dreamed up by team Giant. Think spicy pork wontons and crunchy egg rolls, then work up a sweat with some searing dry-chili chicken or glossy kung pao beef, and cool it down with chilled sesame pea tips. A Strange Magic cocktail — with bourbon, Cynar, scotch, cassis, hibiscus and lemon — will set the mood.

Both pickup and delivery are available.

The Michelin-starred restaurant from chefs Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark offers an abbreviated, à la carte version of its Midwestern-tinged Korean menu perfect for a posh night in. Think buttery beef short ribs with ginger, sesame and garlic; spicy stewed pork with gochujang; and luscious hwe dup bop (a sashimi-style rice bowl not unlike chirashi) with fjord trout, ikura and shaved raw vegetables. Whatever feast you choose, always begin with Parachute’s famous, scallion-flecked baked potato bing bread.

Order pickup here.